Ballot-box



3 Sheets-Sheet 1. E. HOXIE.

(No Model.)

BALLOT BOX.

Patented Dec. 20, 1892.

Fig. 2.

(No Model.) 3 SheetsSheet E. HOXIE.

BALLOT BOX.. No. 488,203. Patented 1360.20, 1892.

MTA/[EEEE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3. E. HOXIE.

BALLOT BOX (No Model.)

Patente-d Dec. 20, 1892.

R M w w v \A/T/VESEEE.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDMUND HOXIE, OF EVERETT, MASSACHUSETTS.

BALLOT-BOX.

SPEGIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 488,203, dated December20, 1892.

Application filed March 4, 1892. Serial No. 423.778. (N0 model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EDMUND Home, of Everett, in the county of Middlesexand State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Ballot-Boxes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to ballot boxes of the class in which the ballotsare drawn into the box by mechanism operated by the turning of a crank.

The invention has for its object; First, to provide improved mechanismfor grasping and drawing the ballots into the box in a more positive andcertain manner than heretofore. Second, to provide improved registeringmechanism operated by the movement of each ballot into the box; andthird, to provide improved means for marking the ballots as they aredrawn into the .box.

To these ends my invention consists of the improvements which I will nowproceed to describe and claim.

Of the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification: Figure1, represents a top plan view of my improved ballot box, the top orcover and the ballot receiving throat therein being removed. Fig. 2,represents a section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1, showing the said top andthroat in place. Fig. 3, represents a section of a portion of the box ona larger scale, showing the ballot graspingjaws in the act of grasping aballot. Fig. 4, represents a view similar to Fig. 3, showing the jaws inthe act of drawing a ballot downwardly into the box, and showing theballot in the act of operating the registering mechanism. Fig. 4,represents a view of a portion of Fig. 4, showing amodificationhereinafter referred to. Fig. 5, represents a section online 5-5 of Fig. 1, looking toward the right. Fig. 6, represents atransverse section of a portion of the cover of the box showing thethroat and the marking devices. Fig. 7, represents a rear elevation ofthe devices shown in Fig. 6. Fig. 8, represents a section on line 8-8 ofFig. 2, looking toward the left. Fig. 9 represents a perspective view ofa portion of the ballot-receiving throat.

The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all thefigures.

. In the drawings: (1, represents a box or receptacle to receiveballots, the same havinga top or cover provided with a V-shaped throator recess a, to receive a ballot. Said throat is preferably long enoughto receive the ballot I) lengthwise, the ballot being inserted in thethroat when its longer edges are held horizontally. One side of thethroat a. is composed of a flap a hinged at a to the top of the box andpressed yieldingly bya spring a against the lower edge of the other sidea of the throat, the last mentioned side being preferably rigid. Thisarrangement enables the edge of a ballot to be arrested at the invertedapex of the throat until the jaws hereinafter described which enter thelower por-.

tion of the throat through slots a 0. (Fig. 9) in the side pieces a agrasp and pull down the ballot into the box, the hinged flap a yieldingto permit the downward movement of the ballot between said side pieces.

The ballot grasping jaws are arranged in pairs, each pair being composedof a jaw c and a jaw c. The jaws c are formed on shanks c which areaffixed rigidly to a horizontal rock shaft d journaled in bearings onthe sides of the box, while the jaws c are formed on shanks c which areloosely mounted at their rear ends on a rod 0 Said rod is connected byshort arms 0 with a rock shaft e which is journaled in bearings in theshanks c of the jaws c, said arms 0 being rigidly attached to the rockshaft e, while the rock shaft is adapted to turn freelyin its bearingsin the shanks c frepresents an operating shaft which is journaled inbearing on one end of the box, and has at its outer end an operatingcrank f outside of the box, and at its innerend a crank f which isconnected by a rod or pitman f with a crank arm e, affixed to the rockshaft e. The relative arrangement of the shaft f, crank f and rock shaftd, (best shown in Fig. 5), is such that the rotation of the shaft f inthe direction indicated by the arroww in Fig. 5, when the jaws areopened and are in the position shown in said figure will cause thepitman f to move the crank 6, rock shaft 6, and arms 0 in the directionindicated by the arrow 0:, thus forcing the jaw 0' toward the jaw c andcausing the two jaws to grasp the lower edge of a ballot in the throata, as shown in Fig. 3, there being no movement of the jaw c and itsshank 0 until pressure is exerted 011 said jaw by the jaw 0' through theinterposed ballot. .When the jaw c has moved far enough to press theballot against jaw c, the pressure imparts motion to the jaw c, and asthe latter has no longitudinal movement (it being affixed by its shankto the rock shaft d) the longitudinal motion of the jaw c ceases and thetwo jaws and the rock shaft cl swing downwardly as indicated in Fig. 4:,and by the arrow 00 in Fig. 5, until said jaws reach the position shownin dotted lines in Fig. 5. At this point the motion of the pitman f isreversed as indicated by the arrow :0 Fig. 5, so that said pitman actsthrough the crank 6, rock shaft e, arms 0 and rod 0 to retract the jaw0' thus releasing the ballot, the jaw 0' being free to moveindependently away from the jaw c to a limited extent, until the inneredge ofits shank comes to a bearing on the shank 0 0f the jaw c. Thejaws are at thistimeinclined so that the ballot will readily fall frombetween them. hen the jaw c hasbeen retracted to a bearing on the shankof the jaw c, the continued backward movement of the pitman f causesboth jaws to swing together back to the position shown in Fig. 2, and infull lines in Fig. 5, the jaws remaining separated and being moved intothe slots a a formed for their reception in the lower portions of theside pieces of the throat. Vhen the jaws are in the last describedposition, their location is such that the lower edge of a ballotdeposited in the throat will be between the jaws, so that the nextforward movement of the pitman will cause the jaws to grasp and thenpull down the ballot.

It will be observed by reference to Fig. 1, that there are several pairsof jaws, and that all the jaws o are connected and caused to move inunison by the rod 0 The ballot is therefore grasped simultaneously atseveral points, drawn positively into the box and then released, thejaws returning to position to receive another ballot.

The rock-shaft d is prevented from rotating freely and is held atanyposition to which it may be turned, by means of a friction device,which, as here shown, comprises a disk (1', Fig. 1, affixed to one endof the rock shaft d and interposed between two friction plates d d; oneof which, d is affixed to one end of the box; the other (1 beingconnected by screws (1 with the plate (Z and caused by said screws tobear with any desired degree of pressure upon the disk (1. This frictiondevice enables the downward swinging movement of thejaws to be effectedwhenever the jaw c presses the ballot against the jaw 0 without regardto the thickness of the ballot, the friction device supporting the jawsc c in the raised position shown in Fig. 5, after the jaws have beenraised to such position by the -rotation of the crank, so that wheneverthe ballot has been interposed between the jaws and the crank is rotatedby the operator, the jaws will commence their descent as soon as theyhave both come to a bearing on the ballot; hence, if by any cause a bodyof unusual thickness gets between any part of the jaws, the operation ofthe jaws will not be affected thereby.

I em ploy a registering device, adapted to indicate or register thenumber of ballots drawn into the box. The mechanism of the register maybe of any suitable construction. As there are many suitable mechanismswell known, I do not describe any special mechanism, but remark thatsaid mechanism may be contained in a casing i, Fig. 2, aiiixed to one ofthe ends, or any other suitable part of the box; said mechanismincluding a shaft 2" projecting through said casing and adapted to berotated to impart motion to a suitable system of registering wheels orpointers within the case. The shaft t" is provided with a ratchet-wheeli which is engaged by a pawl i pivotally connected to the swinging endof a curved arm 1', which arm is pivoted at i to the casing "i, and isprovided witha downwardly projecting arm orlever t which is rigidlyconnected to the arm 2' in anysuitable way. The pawl d is pressedagainst ratchet t by a springil aflixed to arm i. It will be seen thatif the arm i be oscillated a back-and forth motion will be imparted tothe pawl t which will cause a step by step rotation of the ratchet wheelF. The arm 11 is given a movement in the direction indicated by thearrow in Fig. 2, each time a ballot is drawn into the box as abovedescribed, and is thus caused to give a partial rotation to the shaft2', said arm 2' being moved in the opposite direction by a spring i whenreleased by the device which moves it in the direction indicated bythearrow.

3' represents a bar which is provided at one end with a yoke or framej,which yoke incloses and is adapted to slide upon the rock shaft cl, thetop bar of the yoke or frame resting upon the hub of agearj ailixed tosaid rock shaft, so that the weight of the barj at the end having theyokej is supported by the rock shaft cl. The forward portion of the barj is supported by an adjusting block j which is connected by an arm 9',with a rock shaft 7' journaled in bearings on the ends of the box andextending parallel with the length of the throat a; said rock shattjbeing located in close proximity to the apex of the throat. Theadjusting block 3' passes through a slotj in the fixed bracketj' andsupports the bar j, which bar also passes through saidslot, as shown inFig. 8. The slot f is of suflicient length to permit a vertical movementof the bar j and block 7' therein. The block 7' has an incline on itslower edge, said incline being arranged so that when the block 3' ismoved toward the left, as viewed in Fig. 2, the incline will ride uponthe lower end of the slotf, and thus cause the block 7' and the barj torise from the position shown in full lines in Figs. 2 and 3, and indotted lines in Fig. 4, to the position shown in full lines in Fig. 4.The bar 3' is thus raised so that a tooth j on its outer end is inposition to engage the lower end of the lever i. The block j is giventhe movement last described by the downward movement of the ballot, thelatter being caused by the downward movement of the jaws to bear againsta series of projections j affixed to the rock shaft 9' said projectionsbeing arranged to come in contact with the ballot when the latter isbeing pulled downwardly by the jaws, so that the ballot displaces theprojections 3' from the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. l, tothat shown in full lines, the movement thus given the rock shaftjcausing it through the arm 9' to move the block 7' to the position shownin Fig. 4:, thus raising the bar j. The oscillating movements of therock shaft (Z are caused through a gear j to reciprocate the bar j, saidgear j meshing with a rack 3' affixed to the bar j. It Will be seentherefore that when the bar jis raised, as shown in Fig. 4, itsreciprocating motion in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 2,will cause its tooth j to move the lever vi, and thus operate theregister through the devices described. The block 3' is returned to theposition shown in Figs. 2 and 3, after the passage of the ballot bymeans of a spring 3, Fig. 1, affixed to one end of the rock shaftj andat the other end to the fixed bracket 8', which supports one end of saidrock shaft, said spring having a tendency to turn the rock shaft 3' inthe direction required to cause the arm j to move the block 7' towardthe position shown in Figs. 2 and 3, so that when the block 3' is nolonger held by the pressure of the balloton the projection 7' in theposition shown in Fig. 4, said block is moved by the force of the spring8 to its depressed position. It will be seen therefore that the bar j isnormally in a depressed position, so that its tooth 3' will not act onthe lever'i and that said bar is raised, bringing its tooth intooperative position, only when a ballot is being drawn down into the box,the bar 9' being caused to drop to its inoperative position after it hasgiven one movement to the registering mechanism. The projectionsj on therock shaft fare shown in Figs. 1, 2,3 and at as arms, affixed at theirinner ends to the rock shaft, and having their outer ends arranged toproject normally across the path in which a ballot is moved downwardly.If desired,however, the projections may be segmental pieces 3' arrangedas shown in Fig. 4c, and adapted to be moved by frictional contact withthe ballot.

I provide a series of printing disks or Wheels 25, arranged to imprintsuitable marks upon the backs of the ballots as they are drawndownwardly from the throat a, to prevent fraud by the insertion of twoor more ballots at a time. Said printing wheels are provided with raisedprinting characters If, and with shafts or trunnions t which are journaled in slots or elongated bearings 15 in fixed brackets t. trepresents a forked lever, the arms or divisions t i of which areprovided with trunnions 15 t which are engaged with open ears t formedon the brackets 25*. The upper end of the lever 13 is connected with aspring t", which normally pulls said upper end backwardly and forces thelower ends of the arms 25 forward against the trunnions t of theprinting roll. It will be seen by reference to Figs. 6 and 7 that thelower ends of the arms 15 of the lever t bear against the trunnions t ofthe printing roll, and press said trunnions to the forward ends of theslots 25 in which they are journaled. Hence, the printing roll isyieldingly held in its operative position, the spring 23 acting throughthe lever i t to hold the printing roll yieldingly in the positionshown, and permit its backward movement from said position. representsan inking roll having trunnions which arejournaled in hearings in thearms i the periphery of said roll being arranged to bear on the printingcharacters 15' of the printing roll. The open ears t engaging thetrunnions t of the lever i t, enable said lever and the inking rollcarried thereby to be readily removed for the purpose of reinking orreplacing the said roll. The arms 75 t yieldingly pressed against thetrunnions of the printing roll, as described, permit said trunnions toyield to any desired extent, and at the same time to prevent the body ofthe roll at the opposite sides of the printing characters from coming incontact with the inking roll.

I claim:

1. A ballot box, having a ballot receiving throat or slot, jaws arrangedto grasp a ballot in said throat, said jaws being adapted to occupy aballot receiving position in the throat, and a ballot deliveringposition below the throat, and mechanisn for closing said jaws in theirreceiving position, and for opening said jaws in their deliveringposition, as set forth.

2. A ballot box, having a ballot receiving throat provided with slots inits sides, combined with jaws adapted to occupy a ballot receivingposition in the said slots, and a bal=- lot delivering position belowthe throat, and mechanism for closing the jaws in their receivingposition, and opening the jaws in their delivering position, as setforth.

3. A ballot box, having a ballot receiving throat or slot combined witha rock shaft d within the box, arms or shanks affixed to said rock shaftand each provided with a jaw c, a second rock shaft 6 journaled in saidarms or shanks, jaws 0' connected with arms affixed to the rock shaft e,and adapted to cooperate with the jaws o, and means for oscillating therock shaft 6 and thereby causing the jaws c" to co-operate with the jawso, substantially as described.

4. A ballot box, having a ballot receiving throat or slot combined witha rock shaft 01 within the box, a friction device adapted to hold thesaid rock shaft in any position to which it may be moved, arms or shanksaffixed to said rock shaft and each provided with a jaw c, a second rockshaft 9 journaled in said arms or shanks, jaws 0 connected with armsaffixed to the rock shaft e, and adapted to co-operate with the jaws o,and means for oscillating the rock shaft 6 and thereby causing the jawsc to cooperate with the jaws c, substantially as described.

5. A ballot box, having a ballot receiving throat or slot combined witha rock shaft (Z within the box, arms or shanks affixed to said rockshaft and each provided with a jaw c, a second rock shaft 6 j ournaledin said arms or shanks, jaws 0' connected with arms affixed to the rockshaft e, and adapted to co-operate with the jaws o, and an operatingshaft having a handle outside of the box, and a crank or eccentric wristpin within the box connected by a pitman with a crank on the rock shaft6, as set forth.

6. A ballot box, having a ballot receiving throat or slot combined witha rock shaft (1, jaws carried by said rock shaft, mechanism foroperating said jaws as described and thereby oscillating or rocking therock shaft, a register operating bar, and connections between it and therock shaft whereby said bar is reciprocated by the movements of the rockshaft, and devices operated by the movement of a ballot into the boxwhereby said bar is moved to position to operate the register, as setforth.

7. A ballot box having a ballot receiving throat or slot, combined withjaws arranged to grasp a ballot in said threat, a register, devices foroscillating said jaws, a normally inoperative connection between the jawoscillating devices and the register, and devices operated by themovement of a ballot by said jaws to make said connection operative andoperate the register, as set forth.

8. A ballot box having a ballot receiving throat or slot, combined withjaws arranged to grasp a ballot in said throat,a register, devices foroscillating said jaws,a normally inoperative connection between thejawoscillating devices and the register, a rock shaft having projectionsarranged to be moved with the rock shaft in one direction bya ballotentering the box, devices cooperating with said rock shaft in makingsaid connection operative, and a spring connected with the rock shaftand adapted to make the said connection inoperative as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in'thepresence of two subscribing witnesses, this 17th day of February, A. D.1892.

EDMUND HOXIE.

Witnesses:

C. F. BROWN, A. D. HARRISOH.

